


What Ails You

by Hexiva



Category: Marvel (Comics), New Mutants, X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Cannibalism, Ethical Dilemmas, Gen, Headmaster Magneto, Involuntary Cannibalism, Male-Female Friendship, Matricide, Mutant Powers, Patricide, Plotty, The Cure, X-men - Freeform, mutant cure, new mutants - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 13:39:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9237476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexiva/pseuds/Hexiva
Summary: When Magneto, headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children, finds out that Moira MacTaggert has been working on a "cure" for mutant powers, he's distraught. But before he can do anything about it, the two of them are pulled away to chase after a mutant teen with new and terrible powers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just as a head's up, while there's no explicit gore and the story as a whole is not too unrelentingly horrifying, this story DOES stray into some pretty dark territory. Read the tags carefully and use your best discretion.

Moira MacTaggert was typing up a paper when Magneto stormed into her study, with a folder in hand. “What the devil is this, Doctor?” he demanded.

Moira blinked up at him. This was the first time she had personally seen him in a rage. At 6’2, he towered over her, and his reputation gave him an undeniable aura of terror. But at the same time, he made a less than imposing figure dressed in a bright magenta suit. And Charles had assured her that Magneto had changed . . .

“That depends on what yer talkin’ about,” she said evenly. Magneto was here to drop off Rahne - Magneto’s student and Moira’s foster daughter - for a visit home. Evidently, he had decided to do some snooping while he was here. Moira could think of any number of things he could have found that would have infuriated him.

“This!” Magneto waved the folder. “Your plans to ‘cure’ us.”

_Oh._ The mutant cure. No, she didn’t expect him to approve of that. “I’ve no plans to force anyone into anythin’. This cure - if it works - will only give mutants a choice. I promise ye that.”

Magneto’s lip curled. “A choice to cripple themselves in the name of self-hatred! Would you have Rahne bow to those who abused her, rather than learn that she has nothing to be ashamed of? I expected better of you, Doctor. I’ve always thought you cared for the girl. But this - ”

Moira found she was now shaking with rage. “How dare ye accuse me o’ not carin’ for my kid. Ye don’t know what I’ve been through, what _we’ve_ been through!”

“What I know, Doctor, is that Rahne deserves better than this!” There was a knock on the door; both of them ignored it.

“Ye’ve got a lot o’ nerve comin’ in here and lecturing _me_ about bein’ a mother, when yer _own_ kids are _terrified_ of ye - ”

The knock came again, more insistent. “Hey, Teach! I know you’re in there!” called a voice from behind it.

Magneto’s face had gone blank, his eyes burning. Moira met his gaze evenly. After a second, Magneto turned slowly away and opened the door. “Illyana? Dani?” he said, his voice flat. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s an emergency, I swear!” the young blond mutant said. She was in her New Mutants uniform and carrying her Soulsword. Next to her stood a tall Cheyenne girl in the same uniform. Both of them wore painfully earnest expressions.

“What is it?” Magneto snapped.

“I was practicing with Cerebro, sir, like you told me to,” Danielle said, “When the screen started to flash red and this alarm went off. I’ve never seen anything like it before - but I think it’s detected a new mutant.”

“The mere existence of a mutant shouldn’t set off an alarm,” Magneto said, frowning.

“If he’s powerful enough, it will,” Moira said, standing up and walking around her desk. “Charles and I programmed it to register an alarm whene’er there was a massively powerful mutant manifestation - somethin’ like Jean Grey’s, or Franklin Richards’.”

“That’s right,” Dani confirmed. “But I couldn’t figure out where they were. So I had Illyana bring me here - ”

Magneto’s hands clenched into fists, crinkling the folder he had found. “This is very poor timing,” he muttered.

“Nature waits for no man, Magnus,” Moira said, with a shrug. “Cerebro does have the ability to transfer its readings into code. If ye bring me to it, I can translate it fer ye.”

Magneto scowled. “I don’t want you involved in this,” he snapped.

“Well, ye could try askin’ Emma Frost if she wants t’help operate Cerebro,” Moira said, snidely, “But otherwise, it’s me or Dani.”

“I tried, sir,” Dani said. “But I’m not exactly a telepath, not really, and I haven’t had much practice using Cerebro, either. We can trust Moira, can’t we?”

Moira looked at Magneto. Magneto looked back. “Well,” he said after a long moment. “It seems we have no time to waste. Illyana, if you would?”

Moira pored over the lengthy reams of paper Cerebro had printed out. “I’ve got a good lock on their last known coordinates, but the data on their powers is garbled. It almost reminds me of . . . ” Moira trailed off, and then looked up from the papers. “Cerebro doesn’t deal well wi’ some mutant powers,” she told Magneto. “It was calibrated wi’ a telepath, after all. Sometimes other powers confuse the sensors. But I think they’re some kind o’ reality warper.”

Magneto frowned. “A difficult power to deal with on one’s own. I shall pay them a visit. That is the purpose of this school, is it not?”

“I can keep an eye on the students while ye’re away,” Moira offered.

This proved to be the wrong thing to say. Magneto fixed her with a suspicious stare. “We never finished our conversation about your ‘cure,’” he said.

“What else is there t’say?” Moira said, scowling. “There’s nothing I could say t’convince you that I only want to help mutants, is there?”

“No,” Magneto said. “And I am not at all sure I trust you to keep my students safe.”

Moira threw up her hands. “For God’s sake, Magneto, what do ye expect me t’do? Experiment on them the moment yer back is turned?”

Magneto didn’t reply. He just eyed her suspiciously.

“Oh, for - ” Moira rubbed her eyes, irritated.

“You will come with me,” Magneto said. “Your work in the field of genetics is publicly known - and, unfortunately, so are the crimes I have committed in my past. Should I be recognized, you may prove a more persuasive face to our new mutant.”

“And what if I don’t feel like followin’ yer orders, Your Majesty?” Moira snapped. In truth, she had no real objection to his plan - but his imperious manner pissed her off. Nor did she appreciate having the ethics of her research questioned by a man who had killed more people than she could count. Where did _he_ get off judging her?

“Then I’ll tell Illyana to teleport you to the Australian bush and keep an eye on you there until I have time to deal with you,” Magneto answered, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

“And that’s what Charles would’ve wanted you t’do, is it?” Moira asked, before she could stop herself.

Magneto stiffened. Fury filled his face - but it was tinged with pain, too, and it was this latter which made Moira stop and reconsider. Was it really worth fighting over this when they had real work to do?

“All right,” she said, cutting off whatever reply he would have made. “I’ll come wi’ you. As long as the children aren’t left alone.”

“Sharon and Tom will take care of them,” Magneto said, naming the school’s nurse and PE teacher. “Is that acceptable?”

Moira found it odd that he would ask her opinion after having just threatened her. “It is. Do I have time to pack for this trip o’ yours?”

“Of course. Illyana will take you back to your research center. Pack for a week’s stay; as you cannot ascertain the mutant’s name, it may take us some time to locate them.”

* * *

 

Moira and Magneto walked out of the dingy alley Illyana had deposited them in, glancing around at their new surroundings. Corville, Pennsylvania was a city which had the sleepy, quiet feel of a small town. It was mid-afternoon, but the traffic was light and the streets were quiet.

Moira pulled a map out of her purse and pored over it. “Let’s see, latitude 40.2859, longitude - ”

“What are you doing?” Magneto asked.

“Trying to find the exact coordinates Cerebro gave,” Moira said.

Magneto blinked. “It’s over there,” he said, pointing left. “Latitude 40.2859, longitude -76.650589.”

Moira frowned. “How d’ye know?”

Magneto looked at her like she was stupid. “I’m the Master of Magnetism, Doctor. I haven’t been lost since I was sixteen.”

“Oh,” Moira said. “O’course. Lead the way, then.”

Magneto did so, thankfully keeping any smug comments to himself. Moira followed, feeling like an idiot.

Following Magneto’s sense of the Earth’s magnetic field, they walked down Main Street and into a hotel lobby, where Magneto stopped. “Here,” he said. “The question is, how do we find where our mutant is now?”

Moira looked around them. “I’m no’ sure that’s going to be a problem,” she said.

“Why?” Magneto asked, absently.

“Because I think that’s her right there.” Moira jerked her head in the direction of the front desk.

Magneto turned to look. Sitting at the desk was a teenage girl with long green hair tied up in a bun. She had a angular, aquiline face, dotted with green scales, and her eyes were wide and yellow, like a cat’s. Her fingers were thin, long, and ended in straight black claws. Despite her peculiar appearance, her neat, fashionable dress lent her a certain reptilian poise.

Magneto wasted no time on pleasantries. He marched up to her. “Young lady. Are you, by chance, a mutant?”

The girl slowly turned her gaze towards him and blinked twice. It was a long enough pause that any ordinary questioner might have started to feel awkward, but Magneto was both immune and oblivious to such tactics, so he simply waited patiently. “What do I look like, the Pope? Yes, I’m a mutant. Is there anything I can help you with today, sir?” Despite her mandatory attempt at politeness to a customer, her tone suggested a sentiment closer to “buzz off” than to helpfulness.

“You mistake me,” Magneto said, without missing a beat. “I am not here to berate you, but rather to offer you a hand in kinship.”

Moira, feeling that Magneto’s manner lacked a certain something, smiled and offered the girl a handshake. “My associate and I are from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children. It’s a place where mutants can learn t’control their powers and grow up in peace.” She nudged Magneto with an elbow. “Don’t ye have a business card o’ some such?”

Magneto reached into his pockets and smoothly pulled out a card. “I am Professor Michael Xavier, and this is Doctor Moira MacTaggert.”

“I’m Pippa.” The girl looked at them both skeptically, and then took the offered card. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I don’t have the money to go to any kind of private school. My parents aren’t that rich. I mean, we do all right, but we’re saving up for college for my brother - he’s a mutant, too - and I. And that’s a few years in the future. Until then, the local high school will do just fine.”

“Ye’d be on a scholarship, o’course,” Moira said. “And ye’re brother could come too. Right, Ma - Michael?”

“Naturally,” said Magneto.

Pippa looked interested for the first time. “Both of us? And it’s a school _just_ for mutants, you said?”

“Not as uncommon as it might sound, dear,” drawled a voice behind Moira and Magneto. Magneto whirled around to see Emma Frost standing there. She looked impeccable as always in a long, white fur coat, a slight smirk on her lips. “Don’t make your choices too quickly . . . there’s plenty of fish in the sea, you know.”

“Ms. Frost,” Magneto said coldly. “I’d ask what you’re doing here . . . but I think I have some idea.”

Frost smiled. “I detected a powerful mutant manifestation in the area, just as you did. And when I arrived on the scene to find that you were already here, I decided, well, why waste my time scouring this dusty little town for any sign of intelligent mutant life when I could just follow you? And it appears I was right.” She turned her attention to Pippa. “You must be wondering who I am. I am the Headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, an elite college preparatory school for grades eight through twelve. I am also one of the most powerful telepaths in the world. My name is Emma Frost - and I’m here to offer you a scholarship to my school.”

Pippa looked taken aback by this - but Moira could tell she was impressed. “Uh, wow. Listen, this is a big choice. I’m off work in fifteen - maybe we could, like, talk about this somewhere that isn’t the hotel lobby? There’s a nice little diner on Maple Street. I can see that you both have a _lot_ to say.”

“That sounds lovely,” Moira said, before either of the others could answer. “The diner just around the corner?” Pippa nodded her assent. “Why don’t we meet ye there when ye get off of work? All _three_ of us,” Moira added, hurriedly, because she could tell Emma was about to cause a fuss.

“Just in a public place, mind you,” Pippa said, a hint of suspicion surfacing. “I’m not following you back to anywhere else.”

“O’course,” Moira said.

“Sounds good to me. As long as you’re paying,” Pippa said. “I don’t turn down free food. Now, get out of here before my boss comes around to ask what I’m doing, okay?”

Once they were out of the hotel and away from Emma, Moira let out a sigh of relief. “Who was that harpy, Magnus?” she asked. “Friend o’yours?”

Magneto sniffed. “Hardly. ‘Rival’ would be a better term. She runs a rival school - I suppose, when I became Headmaster of the Xavier Institute, I also inherited her enmity. Be careful - in addition to being a powerful telepath, she is also a formidable manipulator.”

“Unlike ye, I suppose?” Moira asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Magneto looked down his nose at her. “I don’t manipulate. I tell people what I want and what I’m going to do if they refuse me. Hero or villain, terrorist or teacher, I have never made a secret of what I am. No, Frost . . . she reminds me more of Charles, truth be told. Always looking two steps ahead, always working on more than one level . . .”

“Always lying his arse off?” Moira said.

Magneto looked affronted. “I wouldn’t put it in quite those terms, but, yes, that is more or less what I meant.”

They walked aimlessly around town for a few minutes before Moira broke the silence. “Why’d ye do it?” she asked.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Magneto drawled.

“Why did ye take over the school after Charley died? I’m not askin’ why Charley offered it t’ye, he always was a bloody optimist when it came to people. But you, you’re a terrorist. Ye were lookin’ to take over the world, not teach a bunch o’ schoolchildren. And Charley spent all those years fightin’ you. Then when he dies, ye just step in and continue his work?”

Magneto was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Charles and I . . . I have known him almost as long as you have. I do not make friends easily, Doctor, as you can no doubt intuit. But Charles shared my drive, my passion. He was the first other mutant I’d ever met . . . and by far the most brilliant man I’d met. He gave voice to the concepts of mutant identity and oppression that I had only recently begin to think of. He was nothing like me and everything like me. He was my equal and opposite. Can you imagine, Doctor, meeting someone from the other side of the world, someone with a completely different history, a completely different life and views . . . and seeing your own soul reflected back in their eyes?”

Moira thought back to the first time she had met Charles, all those years ago. The standoffish, bald American boy with the expressive eyebrows, too smart for his own good and with enough hope for the whole world. Before Korea had broken his spirit and turned him cold and distant, before he’d started fighting his own private war . . . before Moira had fallen out of love with him. “Yes,” she said.

Magneto eyed her thoughtfully. “Yes,” he said, “Perhaps you can.”

They let that hang between them for awhile, in silence, before Moira said, “It’s time to meet our new mutant - assumin’ that Emma Frost hasn’t kidnapped her while we weren’t lookin’.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on her unique electromagnetic signal in order to ensure that she kept her side of our agreement, Doctor. Ms. Pippa will be fine.”

Moira tilted her head, acknowledging this. “Smart. C’mon, let’s see if we can’t get there first.”

They did not get there first. When they arrived, Emma was sitting there, re-applying her lipstick in a hand mirror. She set her lipstick down and smiled up at Moira and Magneto as they approached her table. “So the Master of Magnetism deigns to join us. Hello, Magneto. And your human pet, of course.”

“If I wanted or needed a human ‘pet,’” Magneto said, before Moira could respond, “I assure you, I would not pick this particular human. This is Doctor Moira MacTaggert, the world-renowned geneticist.”

“Pleased t’meet you,” Moira said, in a tone that indicated absolutely no pleasure.  She and Magneto sat down across from Emma. “Magnus has told me so much about you.”

“None of it good, I hope,” Emma said, with a smile.

A few moments later, Pippa arrived, drawing covert stares and whispers from the other patrons in the diner, and plopped down next to Emma. “So,” she said. “You’re paying, right?”

“Naturally,” Magneto said, nodding.

“Great! Then I’m yours for the duration of the meal.” She opened up the menu. “I’m getting the BLT, it’s my favorite. Plenty of B, short on the T. You guys might wanna try the chicken, though. Or the burgers! I like those.”

Emma was looking up and down her menu with a crinkled nose. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go somewhere more . . . cosmpolitan? I would be happy to pay.”

“What’s wrong with this place?” Pippa asked, aggrieved. “I like it here!”

“It does have a certain . . . rustic . . . charm,” Emma said, doubtfully.

All four of them ordered - albeit, in Emma’s case, somewhat reluctantly - and they settled down to wait for the food.

“So,” Magneto said, when their meals arrived.. “Have you considered my offer?”

“Yeah,” Pippa said, leaning forward on her elbows. “I’ve thought about it. To be honest with you, maybe it’s a good time to get out of Corville for awhile, with all these murders.”

“Murders?” Moira asked, sharply.

“Yeah. You haven’t heard? Someone’s been going around, killing mutants. There’ve been three deaths in the last couple of weeks . . . pretty grisly stuff.” Pippa shook her head. “Patrick - that’s my brother - he’s been basically hiding inside the house, afraid to go out.”

“But not you?” Moira asked.

“No. I’m not gonna let some nut with an ax make me too afraid to leave my house.”

“A courageous sentiment,” Magneto said. He was frowning slightly -  dismayed by the thought of this murderer. “But perhaps discretion is the better part of valor here. I will not let mutant children die on my watch.”

“Nor I, of course,” Emma added smoothly, although she sounded significantly less upset by the idea than Magneto did. “The Massachusetts Academy is the safest place in the country. We’ll teach you to defend yourself, and if you can’t, you’ll be surrounded by the best and brightest mutants in the country.”

“If,” Magneto said, pointing his fork at Emma, “She doesn’t send you out to do her dirty work and get you killed. I do not wish to pressure you, Pippa - should you wish to make yourself scarce from this town for awhile, and _not_ to join either my school or the Massachusetts Academy, we can provide assistance with that as well - but I must caution you against trusting this woman. I have caught her on more than one occasion trying to kidnap my students.”

“They’d be better served at my academy, Magnus, and you know it,” Emma said, unconcerned by his accusations. She poked at her food, skeptically.

“Yes,” Magnus said, deadpan. “Whenever I encounter your students, particularly Empath and Roulette, I always observe how well your excellent training in ethics and teamwork has served them.” As Emma gave him a homicidal glare, he continued, “Pippa, the Xavier Institute has a very small, all-mutant student body. Aside from Ms. Frost’s other failings, she asks her mutant students to hide their identity from their classmates. At the Xavier Institute, we do not play at being human, nor do we send our students into dangerous situations. You will be safe, you will be educated, and you will have a chance to build a sense of community with other mutants. In these dangerous times - and make no mistake, it is not just Corville that is dangerous for mutants these days - it is important to have places where we need not be ashamed of who we are.”

“I don’t teach my students to be ashamed of who they are, Magnus. I teach them how to interact with their inferiors.”

“Is that what you both think humans are?” Pippa asked, raising an eyebrow. “Inferiors?”

“Of course they are, darling,” Emma said.

Magnus took longer to answer, tilting his head thoughtfully. “I used to think that,” he said. “But I don’t anymore. I have recently had the honor of meeting an individual who restored my faith in humanity; she saved my life when she had no reason to do so, and showed me kindness where I had showed her none.”

Moira looked up at him, surprised. She knew that Magneto was on the X-Men’s side now, and that Xavier had been convinced of his redemption - but she didn’t know exactly what had led to that change in Magneto’s motives, and she was now wondering exactly who this woman was that Magneto had met.

“Sounds cute,” Pippa said, taking a huge bite of her sandwich. As she chewed, she gave all three adults a considering look through narrowed eyes. “So, you’re mutants, right?”

“Not _all_ of us,” Frost said, giving Moira a look.

“Doctor MacTaggert is a human,” Magneto answered evenly. “But I am not.”

Pippa swallowed her food and then said, “Prove it.”

Emma smirked. “So suspicious at such a young age,” she said.

“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t make it to be your age,” Pippa shot back. “How do I know _you’re_ not the ax-wielding nutjob?”

_Is this proof enough?_ Emma’s cool, collected voice echoed in all three of their heads. Pippa’s eyes widened in surprise.

Magneto simply lifted a finger, and his cutlery floated up a few inches off of the table, rotating idly.

Pippa shoved the last of her sandwich into her mouth. Around a full mouth, she said, “Okay. I’ll pack.”

“What?” Moira said.

“I’ll pack. Your school is out of state, right? I’ve decided. I’m going.”

“To which school, dear?” Emma asked silkily.

Pippa squared her shoulders. “To the Xavier Institute.”

Emma’s expression soured. “But the Massachusetts Academy is much better positioned to prepare you for a successful future, dear.”

“Maybe. Sounds kind of shady to me. And besides - you insulted my favorite restaurant. I can’t be having with that. When do I leave?”

“As soon as you wish to,” Magneto said.

“Then I’ll pack tonight and see what my brother has to say - if he’ll come with me. You’re right. It’s time to get out of Corville.”

* * *

 

Moira and Magneto stayed that night in the hotel where Pippa worked. In the morning, Magneto knocked on Moira’s door, and the two of them headed out of the hotel. They had arranged to pick up Pippa today, and they opted to walk to her house, knowing that once they got there, Illyana could easily teleport them back to the Xavier Institute.

“I’ve been thinkin’,” Moira said. “Even once we get the kids out o’ here . . . there might be other mutants here, right? And there’s that killer on the loose.” She handed Magneto yesterday’s newspaper, which reported the latest killing. “Sounds like X-Men business, no?”

“You’re right, as much as I hate to admit it, Doctor,” Magneto agreed. “I cannot allow this madman to go about killing our people. Our work is not done here.”

“I was surprised,” Moira said after awhile, “at all that stuff ye said about humans the other day. I thought ye hated us all.”

“No,” Magneto said. After a moment, he added, “Perhaps I never really did. Perhaps I merely feared the power of the majority.” But then he turned to look at Moira, and there was no mistaking the hatred in his eyes. “I hate you, Doctor, not because you are a human, but because you pose a threat to my people and our identity. You would take away our powers - neuter us, like _dogs._ It is a form of oppression likely more familiar to the children than to me - You would accept us, but for the parts of us which are unequivocally mutant.”

“Ye’re so damned certain I’m tryin’ t’hurt mutants that ye can’t look outside of yer own worldview for just a second and see that I’m tryin’ t’ _help_ mutants,” Moira snapped.

“Oh? And who would you ‘help’ next?” Magneto said archly. “Homosexuals, perhaps? Blacks? Even Jews?”

“Bein’ Jewish doesn’t _hurt_ you, Magnus!”

“And being mutant does?” Magneto challenged.

“Yes!” Moira snapped. “Yes, it does. It makes you - ” She caught herself, and reorganized her thoughts. “What if it _did_ hurt you? What if it altered your brain chemistry - made you alternately miserable and manic?”

“If you’re implying what I think you’re implying, Doctor,” Magneto said coldly, “The crimes I have committed have nothing to do with my mutation. If I am insane - and I do not claim that I am entirely of sound mind - then it is due to the torments which I have suffered, not to my mutation. And I am frankly disgusted that you would imply that I did what I did as a natural result of my mutant nature.”

Moira looked like she was about to argue, but changed her mind at the last minute. “Maybe not ye, then. But what about Scott? What about Rogue? Her power makes it impossible for her t’touch anyone.”

“And did you _ask_ Rogue and Cyclops if they wanted or needed a ‘cure’ for their powers?” Magneto snapped.

“I’m not talkin’ about forcing this on anyone, Magnus! Last year, I met a mutant child who had enhanced senses - _every_ sense was massively increased. He was _constantly_ in pain. Is it so wrong, t’want him to grow up without pain? T’want him to have a normal childhood?”

“‘Normal’ meaning _human,_ yes?” Magneto sneered.

“Normal meaning _healthy,_ Magnus, meaning _not in agony - ”_

“Excuse me, ma’am, but you can’t go in there,” a voice said.

In the course of their argument, they had been walking towards Pippa’s house, blindly following Magneto’s sense of direction. They were too focused on their debate to pay attention to where they were, and so they jumped in surprise when they found a policeman blocking their way. Pippa’s house was swarming with cops, taped off from the public, with several police cruisers outside.

“And why not?” Magneto asked, archly.

“This is an active crime scene. We’re investigating the murder of this family’s daughter - did you know them?”

Magneto was shocked into silence.

“Pippa?” Moira asked, blanching. “Pippa - are ye tellin’ me Pippa’s dead? But - but we just talked to her yesterday, that can’t be - ”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s true. She’s another casualty of the serial killer who’s been hitting mutants in the area.” The policeman looked them up and down suspiciously. “You’re new in town, ain’t you? How long you been in the area?”

“A couple of days.”

“And if I go ‘round askin’ questions, I won’t find anyone contradicting’ that, will I?” the policeman asked.

“No - why?” Moira asked.

“Because whoever it is that’s been killing these muties, he’s been active a lot longer’n that.”

“We have alibis for last night,” Magneto said. “The hotel staff would have noticed had we snuck out in the middle of the night to murder anyone. How did he get in?”

“Who? The killer?”

“Yes. How did he get into the house?”

“We think he forced the lock,” the policeman answered.

“I don’t think so,” Magneto said. He was looking past the policeman, his eyes locked on the open door to what had previously been Pippa’s house. “There’s something wrong with the lock. Let me take a look at it.” And he pushed his way past the policeman and clambered over the crime scene tape. The policeman, perhaps responding to the air of unconscious command Magneto had about him, stood dumbfounded.

“Don’t worry,” Magneto said, absently, holding his hands a few inches on either side of the door, bracketing the doorknob. “I won’t touch anything.” Before their eyes, the lock unscrewed itself from the door and took itself apart, the component parts floating in midair between Magneto’s hands. With all of the parts disassembled, it was immediately obvious that the locking mechanism was fused into a solid lump, impossible to lock. “Ah. Yes. Interesting.”

“How the hell did you do that?” the policeman demanded, coming up beside him, and then answered his own question. “You’re one of them muties, aren’t you?”

“Astounding deduction, Mr. Holmes,” Magneto said, dryly. “Yes. I am a telekinetic. I noticed something was wrong with the lock . . .”

“How did you spot it from all the way over there?”

“I have good eyes,” Magneto lied.

“Listen - mutie or no mutie, you can’t be in here, this is an active crime scene.” The policeman produced an evidence bag. “But since you helped us find this, tell you what - put that shit in here, and we’ll check out your alibi, and if it comes up clean, we’ll say no more about this, okay?”

Magneto, somewhat to Moira’s surprise, let the components of the lock float neatly down into the bag. “Very well, Officer.” He pulled out his ID and handed it to the policeman. Moira fumbled in her pockets and handed her driver’s license to the man, hoping he wouldn’t bother to look into her immigration status - because she was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to be in the US without a passport. Not to mention Magnus - wherever _had_ he gotten an ID in his fake name?  But the officer didn’t seem too concerned, looking at their ID and then passing it back to them.

Once they had been ejected from the crime scene, Moira turned to Magnus. “Do you think the killer is a - ”

At this point, the two of them stopped abruptly, because they had both nearly tripped over a boy sitting on the sidewalk, curled up with his arms around his knees.

“Waugh!” the boy said, birdlike, scrambling out of their way. He was about the same height as Moira, and covered from head to toe in blue feathers. His fingers, like Pippa’s, ended in sharp black claws, and he had the same wide yellow eyes. “Watch where you’re going, weirdo!”

Magneto looked the boy up and down. “Are you Pippa’s brother?” he asked.

This proved to be the wrong thing to say, because the boy crossed his arms around himself and fought back a sob. “Yeah. I’m - I’m Patrick. What’s it to you?”

“I’m Doctor Moira MacTaggert, and this is Professor Michael Xavier, headmaster of the - ” Moira started, before the boy cut her off.

“Are you those recruiters that Pippa was talking about last night?” he asked.

“Yes,” Magnus said, nodding.

Patrick slumped back down to the ground. “She was so excited about you guys,” he said, dully. “She was really looking forward to getting out of this town . . . getting to meet other mutants . . .”

Moira sat down next to him, cross-legged on the sidewalk. “I’m so sorry for yer loss, Patrick,” she said.

“I was the one that found her, you know,” Patrick said, looking at the ground. “She was - it was - terrible. Her head was - her whole head was gone. Nothing but . . . blood and shards of bone.” He turned away from them suddenly, and retched into the grass. Nothing came up. “Already threw up breakfast,” he muttered. “She - she was always the strong one.” He looked up at the two of them. “Is it true what she said? Can you get me out of this town?”

“Yes,” Magneto said, kneeling down next to him. “I may not have been able to save your sister, Patrick, but I swear to you, I will not let this madman harm another mutant.”

Patrick wrapped his feathered arms around himself again. “I don’t want to be a mutant,” he muttered. “If this is what it gets me, I wish I were human. I wish - I just wish Pippa was still - ” He broke down crying.

“I had a sister once too,” Magneto offered, quietly. “I wasn’t much older than you when she died.”

Patrick was quiet, and then, after a long moment, he asked, “Did you ever start to feel better again?”

Magneto, too, stopped to think before he answered. “I will not lie to you, Patrick. It will never be the same as it was before. But all is not lost. We owe it to those who have gone before to keep on living, to keep their memories alive. They say time heals all wounds . . . perhaps they are not entirely correct, but as time passes, you will learn to build a new sense of yourself, to grow around your scars. Grief is a terrible wound . . . but it is not a mortal one.”

Patrick buried his face in his hands. “Yeah,” he said after a bit. “That makes sense. Doesn’t make me feel any better, though.”

“It would not have done so for me, either, had there been anyone there to tell it to me,” Magneto said kindly.

“We should - should talk to my parents,” Patrick said, his words still muffled by his hands. “If I’m gonna go to this school of yours.” He wiped his eyes, took a breath, and stood up. “C’mon.”

* * *

 

“This is a lot to take in,” Patrick’s father said. “Our - our daughter just _died,_ for God’s sake.”

“I know,” Moira said. “But it may be that yer son will be safer out of town. We can protect him. We have security systems, and powerful mutants who can keep him safe.”

“I - I don’t know,” Patrick’s mother said. “I’d really like to keep Patty close to home . . . after . . . everything . . . but maybe you’re right . . .” She closed her eyes and rubbed them with a fist. Magneto could see her fighting to keep from crying in front of her son.

“Can we talk about this in private, Mary?” Patrick’s father asked his mother. “Away from Patty and - well  - these nice folks?”

“Of course. Yes, of course. Do you two mind?” Moira and Magneto nodded their assent. “We’ll just be in the other room for a minute. You can sit down, or - whatever.” Patrick’s mother caught her breath, and the two of them retreated upstairs, leaving Moira and Magneto alone with Patrick.

“I don’t want to leave,” Patrick said, in a tiny voice. “I thought I did, but now I think . . . with - with Pippa gone - ” His voice broke and he covered his face. “I - I don’t think I can do this.”

And, to their surprise, there came a knock at the door. The three of them looked up as the door opened slowly, showing a girl about the same age as Patrick.

Her face was familiar to Magneto. Not because he had met her before, but because hopelessness and starvation takes everyone the same way. And that was what he saw in her face - gaunt cheeks, bone-thin limbs, and dark shadows under her eyes. It had been decades since he had seen someone as thin and miserable as her, but he had not forgotten, and for a moment, he imagined he was back in Auschwitz, looking at another inmate marked for death.

“I’m sorry,” the girl said.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Magneto said, automatically. “Are you all right? You - you need not be afraid. Whatever’s happened to you, we can help you. There’ll be food in the kitchen, I can pay these people back for it - ”

“How did ye get past the police?” Moira said, in a strange tone.

“I told them not to see me,” the girl said. “And they didn’t.”

“What are you doing in my house?” Patrick demanded.

“I’m here for you,” the girl said, her tone flat and her eyes dead. “I thought taking your sister would be enough, but it’s not. I’m still hungry. So I’m going to take you too.”

Patrick went white. “W - what do you mean, you - you took my - sister?”

Magneto was on his feet. “You had better explain yourself right now, girl, or I will be forced to take action. What is this?”

The girl looked Magneto up and down with empty eyes. “Oh, you’re going to be a problem, aren’t you? I can tell. Okay. If that’s the way it’s gonna be.” She lifted a skeletal hand, and Magneto found himself sinking into floor. His eyes widened in shock, and he struggled against the solid wood and concrete that suddenly surrounded his legs. When that failed, he tried to use his powers, and sent a lamp flying at the girl. With a flick of her fingers, the lamp stopped in midair and fell to the ground, and Magneto found, to his horror, that he could no longer access his powers.

“Sorry,” the girl said, flatly. She waved a hand at Moira, and the ground started to swallow her up, too, only stopping when she was stuck up to her waist. “I couldn’t let you stop me. Don’t worry, I didn’t take them away permanently - you just can’t use them in this room. Not that it’ll do you much good. You’re not getting out of here alive.”

“Why - why are ye doing this?” Moira demanded. “Stop this madness now! We can help you. Ye don’t have t’do this.”

“Yes, I do,” the girl said. “My name is Rebeckah Hart, and I’m a mutant. Like you. Right?” She laughed, bitterly. “Yeah, right. Yeah, my mutation gives me powers . . . as you’ve just seen, the power to do damn near anything that I turn my mind to . . . but it comes at a cost, doesn’t it?” She looked haunted. “I’m hungry . . . all the time. At first, when my powers first manifested, I ate and I ate and I never got full. I was wasting away . . . and I started getting this . . . _craving._ For something I couldn’t name. And then one day  . . . I looked at my parents and I realized what it was I was craving. The first time was just . . . instinct. I was so hungry, and I just . . . _took_ what I needed. And when it was over, I started crying. My mother was horrified . . . but she . . . she still loved me, you know? I can’t imagine the kind of heart that takes, to still love your kid even when she turns out to be a monster.”

Moira, Magneto and Patrick listened in horrified silence as Rebeckah continued. “So she helped me hide my dad’s body. ‘Cause even after all that, she didn’t want me to be arrested. And maybe . . . maybe she knew I couldn’t be arrested. Maybe she knew that I was too powerful to be put in prison just like that.” Rebeckah approached Patrick slowly, as the boy cowered back from her.  “She tried to find some sort of solution. I ate all sorts of terrible things . . . animal brains, mostly. Hoping we could find a substitute for mutant brain matter. We even bought some kind of monkey on the black market, butchered the thing . . . didn’t help. It was only mutants I wanted, I _needed._ Think there’s some kind of . . . I don’t know . . . _enzyme_ or some shit in your brains that my body needs . . . don’t know. Don’t suppose it really matters, does it?” There was a long silence, in which she stared blankly at a wall, before she added, almost casually, “Anyway, in the end, I ate her too. ‘Cause she was there. ‘Cause she was a mutant. And . . . ‘cause I was hungry. It was weeks in between the first and the second kill . . . but now it’s . . . it’s getting shorter. It used to be I could go weeks without killing . . . but I just killed that lizard girl last night and now I’m _hungry_ again -”

“You killed my daughter, you monster,” said a voice from the staircase. “Get away from my son, or I’ll shoot!”

Patrick’s father and mother were standing at the bottom of the stairs. Patrick’s father was holding a hunting rifle. His mother had a handgun. They were both aiming at Rebeckah.

Moira caught her breath. “No, don’t, she’ll kill you, get out of here!” she begged Patrick’s parents. “You don’t understand, she’s a reality warper, she’ll kill you - ”

“Too late,” said Rebeckah, sounding very tired. Both guns turned red-hot and melted in the humans’ hands. Both of them let out blood-curdling screams, as molten metal covered their hands.

“Sorry,” Rebeckah said, walking over to dispassionately observe their writing forms. “Here. I’ll put you out of your misery.” She clicked her fingers, and their struggles abruptly ceased.

Patrick started to cry loudly.

“You won’t get away with this,” Magneto said. “Sooner or later, someone more powerful will turn up. Surrender now, and I will make sure you are treated humanely - ”

“And what?” Rebeckah interrupted. “Let me starve to death in prison? Is that humane? Or are you gonna be feeding me mutant brains? I don’t think so. Sorry. This is the way it has to be. This is my - my nature. For better or for worse. Will you - will you SHUT THE FUCK UP, KID?!” She whirled on Patrick, who was still sobbing. “What’s the point in crying? You’re gonna be dead soon, anyway.”

“P-please,” Patrick begged. “D-don’t kill me.”

“Sorry,” Rebeckah said. “But that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Magneto struggled against his bindings. “If I get out of here,” Magneto threatened, “I swear I will kill you, girl. I will make you pay for the mutant blood on your hands!”

“I’m gonna spare you the sight of what’s gonna happen next,” Rebeckah said. With a wave of her hand, she caused vinelike protrusions to grow out of the walls of the house and ensnare Patrick, then drag him with her up the stairs. Just before she disappeared out of sight, she turned back to the two adults, and said, “Sorry.”

Then she and Patrick were gone. Magneto shut his eyes and clenched his fists, but he couldn’t shut out Patrick’s terrified screams.

“Hey, Teach,” said a very familiar voice. “Are you okay?”

Magneto opened his eyes, and saw Danielle Moonstar looking down at him, the rest of the New Mutants standing behind her. “Dani?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

“When you missed our rendezvous, we realized something must be wrong, so Rahne tracked you down and Illyana ported us in.” Dani turned to the young black man next to her. “Sunspot, get the Prof and Doctor MacTaggert out of the floor, will you?”

“I cannot promise that they will not be injured in the process. There will be splinters,” Roberto da Costa said, turning into his shadowy ‘Sunspot’ form, which granted him superstrength.

“Better than being eaten by a nutty reality-warper,” Illyana said. “Hurry up. I think she’s got someone else up there.”

“She does,” Magneto explained, as Roberto ripped the floorboards and concrete away from his legs. “If we move quickly, we may be able to save him - ”

“I’ll take point,” Dani said, while Roberto quickly freed Moira. “Illyana, port in behind her. I’ll distract her with a mirage, you grab the boy. But get everyone else out first - If this goes south . . .” She left the implication dangling.

“I cannot let you go up there alone!” Magneto protested.

“Teach, we already know she can take you down. Your powers are physical. But mine are psychic - I might be able to affect her.”

“Nevertheless, I am your teacher. You are my responsibility. I must - Augh!” Magneto was interrupted by a large ginger wolf jumping at him, like an overly affectionate dog. He was knocked down by the weight of the animal on his chest, and he fell right into one of Illyana’s stepping disk. Immediately, the scene around him changed, and, for a second, he saw the demonic landscape of Limbo. Then the stepping disk reappeared, and he was back in Xavier’s mansion, lying on the purple carpet of his own office.

“Sorry, Teach,” Illyana said, porting back out. “But you have to let us do this.”

The ginger wolf leaped off of Magneto’s chest, and transformed into a young girl with short, bright red hair, the same color as the wolf’s fur. “Sorry, sir! But you said it yourself, we have to move fast to get that boy out of there! We couldn’t let you slow us down - and we didn’t want you to get yourself killed, either!”

“ _Rahne!”_ Magneto bellowed. “Take me back there this instant, Illyana! I will not stand for this!” But Illyana was already gone.

Magneto realized he was shaking - with anger, but mostly with fear. He didn’t know how he’d live with himself if Dani and Illyana got killed trying to fix his mistakes.

“Maybe she has a point, Magnus,” Moira said, her tone uncharacteristically timid. “If anything can stop that girl, it’s going to be a telepath.”

“Danielle isn’t a telepath!” Magneto shouted. “She’s just a _child,_ Moira!”

“Like the X-Men were back when you were trying to kill them all?” Moira challenged.

“I have no wish to have the tragedies of my past repeated in my present! Have you _no_ regard for mutant life? Just because Charles was willing to send children into battle does not mean I am! If they die, Moira, so help me - ”

“Uh, guys,” said Doug Ramsey, the team’s translator. “They’re already back.”

Moira and Magneto whirled around to see Illyana standing with the unconscious body of Patrick in her arms, and Dani standing next to her. The last remnants of a stepping disk was fading around their feet.

“Danielle?” Magneto said, breathless with relief.

“That was a close one,” Dani said. “But we got him out okay. I think he’s fine - he just fainted. I don’t blame him.”

* * *

 

When Patrick awoke, Magneto was there waiting for him. He was seated next to Patrick’s bed in the infirmary, reading the first book of the _Foundation_ trilogy to pass the time.

“Professor Xavier?” Patrick said, groggily, as he sat up. “Where am I? Where are my parents? Where is - _she?_ Am I - Am I dead?”

Magneto chuckled at this last. “I do not think you have done anything so terrible as to deserve having _me_ to greet you after you die, boy. You are safe.” His smile faded quickly and he turned morose. “I am sorry to say that your parents were not as lucky.”

Patrick sat upright in bed for a few moments, staring at Magneto, and then he broke down into incoherent sobbing.

Magneto sat with him in silence, setting his book down on the nearby table. He knew there was nothing he could say to mitigate Patrick’s grief, but he felt that the boy should not be left alone to suffer.

“If you have relatives,” he said, after a time, “Perhaps an aunt or an uncle - it might be good to call them. To let them know what has happened, if not to seek comfort. You are, of course, welcome to use our phone, and to stay here as long as you need to.”

Patrick looked up at Magneto through wide amber eyes. “I don’t want to stay here,” he said, through sobs. “I want to go home.”

Magneto shook his head. “I am sorry, Patrick. You cannot do that now. I and my colleagues are hard at work looking for the girl who did all this - once we have found and defeated her, your home will be safe to return to, and perhaps arrangements can be made for you to remain there.”

“What the fuck are you gonna do if you _do_ find her?” Patrick said, lashing out suddenly. He was still in tears. “Toss some more illusions at her and then run away? That’s all _Dani_ did. How are you going to ‘defeat’ her?”

Magneto crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair, looking down. “There are ways,” he said. “My allies and I have both faced enemies far more fearsome than one frightened little girl. Do not fear for us, Patrick - we will find a way.”

After he had left Patrick, Magneto found his way to the room where Moira MacTaggert was staying, and knocked on her door. When she opened it, he was surprised to find that her eyes were red with crying.

He politely didn’t mention this. “May I come in?” he asked.

Moira nodded and let him in. She sat on the edge of her bed, her arms crossed, looking miserable and stubborn. “Magneto,” she said, “You must know what has to be done.”

Magneto’s lips twisted in distaste, and he said, “I know. But I do not like it.”

Moira looked away and shut her eyes, before getting to her feet in a sudden, restless movement. She started pacing. “I have a son,” she said, not meeting Magneto’s eyes.

Magneto blinked. “With Charles?” he asked.

Moira laughed bitterly. “No, though I wish to God he was. No, Kevin’s father is no one so pleasant as Charley. He’s a brutal, cruel man, and I should ne’er have taken up with him. But . . . what’s done is done, and Kevin is the result.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Magneto asked.

“He’s a mutant,” Moira said, not answering Magneto’s question. “Like that poor girl, he had the power to warp reality. And like her, it came at a cost. The powers burned his body out - they would have killed him, but he could . . . he could take other people’s bodies for himself. Until he burned them out, too. Magnus, the only way he could live was by leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. And so I - I kept him imprisoned. In stasis. So that he wouldn’t die . . . but he couldn’t live either. God forgive me, but what was I to do? Bring him human sacrifices, like that girl’s poor mother, until he eventually turned on me?”

She sat back down on the bed, hugging herself. Magneto listened, silent, aghast. “I’m tellin’ you this, Magneto, because I think you deserve t’know the true reason I developed that project o’ mine that ye found in my files.I didn’t make this serum fer Rahne. I didn’t even make it for Rogue and Cyclops. I made it for my son, and mutants like him.” She looked up, meeting Magneto’s gaze. “I made it for mutants like Rebeckah Hart.”

“But to rip out her powers - to take her very identity as a mutant - ” Magneto cut himself off, and then said, “It goes against everything I believe in. Everything I have been fighting for all these years.”

Moira got up and went over to her luggage, rifling through her bags before pulling out a syringe and handing it to Magneto. “On yer head be it, Magnus. I won’t have this girl’s blood on my hands, if ye decide to slay her rather than cripple her - but I won’t stand in yer way. I don’t know. Maybe she deserves it. She did kill all those people, after all. I don’t know, Magnus. I won’t judge you. But I won’t be the one to make the choice.”

Magneto took the syringe and stared down at it. After a moment, he said, “Thank you, Doctor. I will . . . think on this.”

He didn’t even try to sleep that night. He just sat in his study and tried to convince himself that whatever he might do tomorrow, it would be worth it.

* * *

 

Morning found Magneto flying back to Corville, accompanied by Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine.

“According to Doctor MacTaggert, Ms. Hart is still lying low in the Norman family’s house,” Magneto said. “It’s possible that, after we prevented her from feeding, she will be weak and vulnerable.”

“Gotta take her out before she goes lookin’ for fresh prey,” Wolverine growled.

“Are we really gonna kill a kid who has no choice what her powers are?” Rogue asked.

There was a long silence from the other three, until Storm said, “We will do our best to take her alive, Rogue.”

Magneto felt the weight of the syringe in his pockets. He hadn’t told them about Moira’s ‘cure’. Part of him wanted to destroy the syringe and never speak of it again. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to go through with this - or that he could bring himself to.

“What’s the plan, ‘Ro?” Wolverine asked.

“You, Magneto, and I will take point - approaching her directly and attempting to engage with her. If possible, we will incapacitate her, but our real objective is to draw her attention while Rogue approaches from behind and tries to absorb her powers. Rogue’s powers are our best chance at defeating this foe without killing her - or letting her kill us.”

They lit down in the alleyway behind the Normans’ house, and Rogue hung back while the other three came around to the front of the house. It was eerily quiet -  the police were all gone and the street was empty. There was a sense of power crackling in the air, like electricity just beyond Magneto’s perception.

The door opened easily in Storm’s hand. There were big holes in the walls and floor, where Sunspot had busted Moira and Magnus out, but Magneto could still see where the wood had been warped by Rebeckah’s powers.

Wolverine sniffed. “We got a problem. We’re not alone here.”

“There’s someone here other than Hart?” Storm asked.

“Yeah. Someone _real_ familiar. Emma Frost.”

Magneto swore under his breath. “She can’t be serious. Does she truly mean to recruit Hart?”

“What good would a serial killer kid do her?” Wolverine asked.

“Hart is unbelievably powerful. If one could find a way to keep her . . . fed . . . then she could be quite an asset. But . . . what a cost!” Magneto shook his head.

“I wish I could say I believed Frost was above that,” Storm said.

The three of them walked up the stairs, Wolverine taking the lead. The stairs creaked under his weight.

“ . . . wouldn’t have to go hungry again,” they heard as they ascended. “The Hellfire Club could find you a limitless supply of food.”

“You’re crazier than I am,” Rebeckah’s voice responded. She gave a broken, unhinged laugh. “ _I_ don’t have any choice but to be a monster. You, you don’t have that excuse.”

“You could have a normal life again,” Emma Frost said.

“Yeah, a normal life eating brains. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

The floorboards creaked under Wolverine’s food, and Rebeckah whirled around, her eyes widening as she saw the hairy little man coming towards her. She threw out her hands in front of her, and the air turned solid in between herself and Wolverine. Wolverine smacked into it.

“Who the hell are you?” Rebeckah demanded.  

“The name’s Wolverine,” he said, getting back to his feet and unsheathing his claws.

Emma Frost sighed. “How tiresome,” she said. She gave a casual wave of her hand, and Wolverine’s eyes rolled up in his head. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

Rebeckah turned her attention to the remaining two X-Men, and the floor started to swallow them up again. Magneto was grabbed, but Storm took to the air in time.

“You can run from her,” Emma said, “But not from me.” She turned her icy gaze on Storm, and Storm crumpled and fell out of the air, hitting the ground with a solid _thud._ Emma returned her attention to Rebeckah. “Now that that’s out of the way, we can continue our conversation, dear.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Rebeckah said dully. She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed sullenly. “I don’t want to help you with whatever the hell it is you’re doing.”

“I can help you,” Emma said.

“I don’t need your help,” Rebeckah said.

Emma raised one pale eyebrow. “Really?” she said. “Then you won’t need me to tell you that there’s an X-Man sneaking up behind you to steal your powers.

Rebeckah whipped around to find Rogue behind her, one glove off and her bare hand outstretched. She screamed, sounding like a wild bird, and threw out a hand. Rogue was tossed back into the wall, which melted around her.

“See?” Emma said smugly. “Everyone can use an ally, my dear.”

Rebeckah turned around. “Who the hell are these people?” she snapped.

Emma waved the question off. “Rival schoolteachers,” she said. “Now, I know you already have four, er, meals on hand, but if you join my school, I can help you get - ”

“Five,” Rebeckah said.

Emma tilted her head inquisitively. “I’m sorry?”

“Five. You said I had four meals on hand. I have five.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed as she did some very simple math. “Now listen here, you little monster, if you think I’m going to sit here and let you eat me, you have another thing coming.”

“You won’t have a choice,” Rebeckah said. She sounded dull and uninterested, looking up at the ceiling. “None of them do.”

“You think because you can feed on terrified children and these poor fools, you can defeat _me?”_ Emma said, and laughed.

“Yeah, kinda,” Rebeckah said, and lifted a hand. The walls started to melt around Emma . . .

And then stopped. Rebeckah stood still as a statue, frozen in place. “What - what’s happening?” she asked, frightened for the first time. “You - I can’t move.”

“I told you,” Emma said. “I am more powerful than you could ever imagine, little girl. You may have control over the world around you . . . but I have control of the world _within._ You control the world . . . and I control _you.”_ She paced a circle around Rebeckah. “It’s a pity you wouldn’t come over to my side willingly - but I don’t need you to. One of the advantages of being a telepath is that I can make you do whatever I want. You will be my tool, my dear, and I will use you to reshape the world.”

Magneto went cold at the thought of someone like Emma Frost having that sort of power. Rebeckah was just a frightened child. All she wanted was to feed and be left alone. But Emma - Magneto knew _exactly_ what kind of person Emma was, because he had been just the same once. He saw the same cruel, power-hungry gleam in her eyes.

He could imagine the kind of world she would make, and it wasn’t one he wanted to live with.

He closed his eyes and used his powers to draw the syringe out of his pocket slowly, careful not to draw her attention.   _Just one choice,_ he thought to himself. _Just one chance left._

“Now,” Emma said, “Before we get started, perhaps we should get some food in you, hm?” She turned to Wolverine. “Let’s start with - ”

And then Rebeckah cried out, as the syringe came flying out from under Magneto’s cape and stabbed her. She crumpled to her knees convulsing.

Emma’s eyes widened. “What have you done?” she demanded of Magneto.

Magneto reached into the infrastructure of the house, careless of the damage he was causing, and twisted the end of one of the pipes free. He used it like an axe to cut himself free of the swathe of twisted wall that was holding him prisoner, and floated free. “The same thing I’ve always done,” he answered. “What I had to do.”

Emma reached out to try to take control of Magneto’s mind, but met impenetrable barriers. Magneto smiled his frightening, sharp-edged smile. “If Charles Xavier could never stop me, Ms. Frost, do you really think you’re going to be able to?”

He struck her with an electromagnetic bolt, and she collapsed, writhing. He looked down at her, contemptuous, and for a moment he thought of killing her.

But no. He had learned a better way.

“W-what did you do to me?” Rebeckah asked. She was sitting curled up, her arms around her knees.

Magneto lit down on the ground. “I took away your powers,” he said, heavily. “I am sorry, child. You are no longer a mutant.”

Rebeckah’s eyes grew very wide in her gaunt, wasted face. “You took away my powers? You took away the hunger?” And, before Magneto had a chance to react, she was on her feet, coming at him, and -

And throwing herself into his arms, sobbing and hugging him.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou,” she sobbed out. “I - I thought I would never be able to stop, I thought I would be a monster forever, I thought I could never change and you, and you saved me - Th - _Thank you!”_

Magneto wrapped his arms around her tightly. “It’s okay,” he said. “You never have to kill again.”

She clung to him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “ _Thank you.”_

* * *

 

Rebeckah sat perched on the rocks at the edge of Muir Isle, looking out over the waves thoughtfully. Rahne came over, clambering across the rocks and sat down next to her, shyly.

Magneto couldn’t hear what they were saying, looking down at the two of them from the windows of Moira’s lab, but they looked friendly.

“Do you think she’ll be all right, Doctor?” he asked.

“As much all right as anyone can be after they’ve done and suffered terrible things,” Moira said, standing next to him and looking out at the children. “Ye’d know more about that than me, I think.”

“I invited her to join the New Mutants,” Magneto said. “Being a mutant is about more than powers - it’s about a sense of cultural identity. Powers or no, she is still a mutant. But she turned me down.”

“She’s goin’ to live with me, here on Muir Island,” Moira said. “She needs the quiet, I think. And perhaps - well - perhaps I’ll do a better job raising her than I did Kevin.”

“A second chance,” Magneto said. He turned his head and smiled slightly at her.  “We all deserve one.”

“It’s probably for the best she didn’t want to be a New Mutant. How would Patrick have felt?”

Magneto nodded. “I imagine that would have been rather rough on him. He’s only just starting to recover. He has a long way to go.”

“Has he been doing well?” Moira asked.

“Yes. Bobby has taken him under his wing. I expect to find him trying to sneak out in the middle of the night within the month.”

Moira grinned. “Children will be children,” she said.

“As they should be,” he said. His smile faded. “The others were not all pleased to discover the existence of your serum.”

Wolverine in particular had been furious with him for using it on Rebeckah. Magneto could not have predicted that he’d be so affected by Wolverine’s disappointment in him. It didn’t help that Magneto himself still wasn’t certain that he’d done the right thing; like Wolverine, he was inclined to perceive the creation of a “cure” as the beginning of a slippery slope to genocide.

But looking down at Rebeckah peacefully chatting with Rahne, he still couldn’t imagine leaving her to be consumed by her own demons.

“Yeah?” Moira said. “I didn’t expect them t’be, truth be told. How did . . . how did Rogue take it?”

“She was quiet,” Magneto said. “I have never been a particularly good judge of the feelings of others, but I think I can guess at what she was thinking.” He looked sidelong at Moira. “If she wants to, will you let her?”

Moira was silent for awhile. “I don’t know,” she said. “Where do ye draw that line? I wouldn’t want it to be used by a mutant like Rahne, just because the world doesn’t understand her. But Rogue - her powers prevent her from havin’ the kinda life she wants. Shouldn’t she be allowed to choose for herself?” She sighed. “I feel kinda like Oppenheimer.”

“Well,” Magneto said, “I have always been an opponent of nuclear armament, but I cannot say I am particularly displeased that they used the atomic bomb to end the War. Not that it did me any good, but I and mine were not the only ones suffering at the hands of the Axis.”

“That’s a lot of power for one human bein’ to have,” Moira said, rubbing her temples. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

“Neither was Rebeckah,” Magneto said. “God, if he exists, does not seem to care much whether or not we are prepared for the challenges he sends us.”

“What do you think I should do?” Moira asked.

“I?” Magneto said, tilting his head. “I think that I am not the one to ask. I have as much blood on my hands as Oppenheimer, and I am still not at all sure that I did the right thing to ‘cure’ Ms. Hart. I think, perhaps, that I do not have the right to an opinion. But if you want mine anyway, I can only say that it is your duty to make sure that your invention is never used on a mutant against his or her will.”

Moira nodded slowly. “Ye’re right.” And after a moment, she glanced back out through the window. “An’ for what it’s worth, Magneto, I think you did the right thing. Because of you, I think Rebeckah’s goin’ to be okay.”

Magneto followed her gaze and saw Rebeckah laughing at something Rahne had said. “I hope you’re right,” he said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm honestly very proud of this fic; it's my first successful attempt at writing a longish, plotty fic that doesn't rely heavily on a canon arc to give it its structure. I know there isn't a huge audience for comics-based, gen fic, so I'd really appreciate it if, after having read this fic, you'd scroll down and leave your opinion of it in the comments box, whether that comes in the form of praise or criticism.


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